In the Shadows
by Sanru
Summary: Six months ago, Selim Bradley discovered his past and decided to hide it from the world. Now his mask is starting to crack, powers he only half understands are threatening to blow his cover, and everyday is exhausting as he continues to play a loosing game of deception. Something is going to have to give and Selim hopes that it's not going to be his life.


Disclaimer: Not mine and if it was I would have tried to figure out a way for Greed to survive.

Author's Note: Well I had wanted to get this out in September or October of last year but I also wasn't expecting for what happened in the past year to happen.

I'm hoping that the prologue is enough of a short summary to help bring readers up to date and/or refreshes them on what happened in the first part of this story. I still encourage everyone to go and read the first part if you're not familiar with this story. You'll find it on Moofy-Fan's page under the title with the same name, In the Shadows.

* * *

In The Shadows

Prologue

* * *

Selim knew what was coming as soon as he opened his eyes.

He cringed back as he looked around himself. He wasn't exactly sure how he had arrived here but he was standing in a dark room, large by the sounds of the echoes he created as he shifted his feet a bit to look about. The only source of light was directly above him and only shone down on him causing the darkness to act more like walls rising up around him. He knew this room, this place. He had been here many times before it had started to invade his dreams. It meant that he had screwed up somehow, that he had failed Him.

"Oh no, not again," He whispered to himself as he shrunk down a bit, trying to remain standing but also trying to curl up into a ball to hide himself. He knew better than to run, that hadn't gotten him anywhere in the past and he knew it wouldn't now. He would just be brought right back kicking and screaming and fighting and then the coming punishment would be so much more severe.

Better to just stand his ground and take it.

First came the sound of someone shuffling towards him, slowly as if it took a great deal of energy to just move Selim frowned and shrunk slightly, dipping his head down more so that his chin nearly touched his chest, but he managed to stay mostly upright as he clenched his fists at his side. From the shadows emerged a tall figure, draped in white robes with long flowing blond hair, moving slowly and stiffly as if he was much older than he appeared. The figure's head was tilted down but as it stopped several feet from him and began to lift it to look at him he lost that battle to not be afraid. Selim couldn't help it and scrunched his eyes closed as he cowered in his presence. "No please don't."

"Father stop," He whispered those words to the ceiling as his eyes opened and he continued to trembled faintly in fear.

He laid there for a moment before slowing sitting up and looking around his bedroom. There was no white robed figure with golden hair in the room. He scanned over his possessions and the scattered furniture, looking for anything unusual or out of place. More to remind himself he was safe rather than worried something had been taken. Thankfully he had at least woken up quietly. He hadn't had a dream about that man for several months and the last time he had he had woken up the entire house with his panicked and fearful cries.

Despite his shivers he was overheating and he pushed the tangled blankets away from himself before reaching for his stuffed armor doll. Even though he knew he had fought the man in the armor, had tried to kill him, the armor had also cared about him. The only nightmare he had had that wasn't really a nightmare was when the two of them were sitting in a dark room and had just been talking quietly. The armor had even given him his helmet to play with. It was the only not quite dream memory he had of back then that was pleasant and it was because of that dream he would find himself reaching for the old toy when everything became too much. The armor had cared about him just as much as Mister Al did. Even their voices were the same. He curled around it clutching it close and worked on calming down somewhat. He knew from experience that only then would the shadows stop dancing.

Well, he couldn't really call it dancing, more like just shivering where they usually gathered under and around things caused by the light coming from the street light out front. It was more than a little disquieting especially now that he knew what they could do. Selim cut that thought off and closed his eyes, blocking out the shifting shadows around him as he tried to quiet his racing heart.

In the past it had been a very near thing to calm the shadows before his Mother or one of the guards burst into the room to make sure nothing was amiss. He still was trying to figure out exactly how the shadows worked but they always seemed to respond when he was under severe distress. Hissing at them to hide had worked in the past but somehow he could still feel them waiting to do something the moment he needed help.

The imagery of a sliced apart raccoon rose up unhindered in the back of his mind.

He uncurled from around his stuff toy and got off the bed, walking over to the window to peer out at the grounds below. It was raining again. It had been pouring most of the week. He leaned against the window sill with his elbows and watched the rivulets of water trace down the outside of the glass.

Six months ago he had finally been allowed to leave the estate and taken a trip to Risembool to spend some time with Mister Alphonse. It was his first real break of freedom and quiet since he could remember. There was no one constantly watching him, no hustle and bustle that he associated with living in the city. It was quiet, peaceful, and Mister Alphonse had even started teaching him to use alchemy. All and all it was the best thing to have ever happened to him.

Even if he discovered who -or better yet what- he really was.

He let his head sink down more into his arms so that only his eyes looked over them at the stormy night outside. His nightmares had been hard enough to handle before but now that he knew that they were more like past memories they were unbearable. He had attacked Mister Edward and Mister Alphonse. So many people he only vaguely recalled seeing at one point or another in the paper or that would come to visit his Mother. He remembered fighting against them, threatening them, forcing them to do what he had wanted at the time.

And then there were those that hadn't managed to walk away from him.

He couldn't help the sob that escaped him and he scrubbed the back of his hand at his cheeks trying to wipe away his tears. Those horrible shadows… They had ate them. He had told the shadows to rip them apart and then they ate them.

And he had been happy about it.

That was what was the most disturbing about remembering his other life. Seeing a shadow slice into someone was common place. There was nothing wrong with that scene. Back then to him it was just another human. That's all they ever were, just one more human, one new piece of energy, sustenance and power to be harvested and used as they needed.

He pulled away from the window swallowing dryly and loosely hugging at his stomach. He had to stop think of this or he was going to make himself sick again. He slowly walked back over to his bed and straighten out the covers before climbing back in. He snuggled his armor doll to his chest after he pulled the cover up and over his head to block the view of the trembling shadows he knew where still there.

That was the worst part about all this. He had to face everything alone. Mister Alphonse had been really upset about the dream he had told him about, which made more sense now he knew what he was. He didn't dare mention what else he had managed to piece together and learn. He now knew that the guards that he thought were there to protect him and his Mother were actually there to stop him if he did something.

They were there to kill him if anything seemed to be unusual.

He shivered and felt the tears return as they tracked down his face again. It was so unfair. In a way he wished he had never gone to Risembool. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about calculating every move so as not to appear any different. He wouldn't be constantly aware of the danger around him. Just the slightest misstep, one wrong move, and they would know.

It was frightening how easy it was to slip into the act of just being the same little kid he had always been. To put on a mask and pretend everything was alright and nothing had changed despite his constant vigilance. Watching those around him and making sure that they didn't suspect anything was wrong or different about him. It was trying, playing two roles at once and trying not to let anything that would seem unusual or to be suspected as out of place.

He buried his face into the armor doll. It was all so unfair but they had every right to be afraid of him. He was afraid of himself. Of what he could do. Of what could happen to him. Of what would happen to those around him if they tried to kill him.

Of those awful red eyed, sharp teeth shadows returning.

The tears just kept coming and Selim surrendered himself to them. He buried his face as deep as he could into the armor to muffle his sobs. As he quietly sobbed, he found himself wishing that there was someone who could help him, someone who would at least be sympathetic to his plight and listen to him. Help him.

Well, there was someone he could at least talk to but Ethan lived all the way out in Risembool and Mister Edward didn't like them talking to each other to begin with. Besides it not like they could talk to each other over the phone about something like this. Someone might hear them.

He curled into an even smaller ball, feeling more alone and trapped than ever before.


End file.
